Knights of The Old Republic

Episode 68

19

MAR/13

On Procopia in the Tapani Sector Jedi Master Shi Leer received a holo from Corraun Jax sharing the recent events and feeling a bit lost Corraun asks for help. With embers of the Mecrosa Order still burning Shi Leer can’t leave to help, but will do what he can. After the holo shuts off Leopold Weschler apologizes for over hearing. Back on Coruscant Tyan meets with Senator Bol’garn and shares his disappointment with the Jedi’s handing of the situation so far. Tyan recommends Bol’garn demand the order assign more Jedi.

Master Andor speaking with Leeloo about the loss of Knight Xergo and share a moment in his honor. Andor shares that based on a report from Tyan the senate has been getting more involved in this business, which is out of their understanding, but with the loss of Xergo the High Council will assign additional Knights to investigate each hyperspace stop, but Andor cannot promise their help for long as the duties of peacekeeping for a galaxy is taxing on man-power. Leeloo will go to Tattoonie to follow up on that lead along with the council’s original choice to handle Kip Gilto, Knight Galen Neros.

Later that day Corraun finds Leeloo in the temples guest quarters. Leeloo explains how she had lost all hope on the Wrecker’s moon while being tortured. It seems everyone who has cared about Leeloo is gone or dead and she tires of living on a razor’s edge. Corraun feeling unable to share his feelings verbally, kisses Leeloo.

The next morning Leeloo meets Knight Neros at the star port and he sets the ground rules of their partnership. Inside the port is Tyan Duna and his entourage. Tension seems to form almost instantly between Tyan and Galen. Their transport arrives and stepping out is Corraun Jax and Eva Cana. She introduces The Rogue Star, a large transport on loan from her father. Corraun explains to Galen that Eva has chosen to accompany them and she would not be persuaded otherwise.

On the way to Tattoonie Eva speaks with Leeloo about what to do with Kip when they find him. Eva believes they must try to save Kip at any cost and Leeloo tries to explain that Kip is already gone. They agree to continue to champion their own positions, but not to work against each other. During the travel Corraun and Leeloo are able to speak further about her kiss on the Wrecker’s moon and Corraun’s at the temple. Corraun explains that when she was gone on Dathomir that he realized fully what he had lost.

On Tattoonie in the city of Anchorhead they’re all surprised to see Leopold waiting for them. He explains that he practically begged Master Shi Leer to allow him to help Corraun and Kip in their time of need, since they had helped him so much on Tapani. Exiting the star port they see a large amount of Czerka corp. security forces and learn that Czerka’s mining operations have been attacked repeatedly by the native sand people and it’s grown much worse in the last month.

An alarm sounds and the heroes follow it to a Czerka command building and learn of a massacre inside. They met the newly acting security chef Lt. Cort Calway. Using a mind link technique Galen connects Leeloo, Corraun and himself together in a waking meditative state. Using Leeloo’s tracking, Corraun’s tactics and Galen deduction they share a vision of what happened less than an hour ago. A force user likely Kip entered with two sand people and killed nearly everyone in the building. The only exceptions were Viceroy Ebb Vang and his protector Lt. Calway who got them behind a blast door in time. With a lightsaber the door was almost breached when Kip’s attention was captured by a box on a nearby lab table. The attacker took the box and destroyed the terminal of data on it, then left.

Corraun shares his theory that Kip is the one who attack this building and is likely behind the recent increase in attacks against Czerka trying to lure the Viceroy to this planet to kill him for what happened on Fel-Tide. The only mystery is what was in the box that was so interesting that he would give up a minute away from completing the plan he had been working on for a month. Calway says that it’ll take some time to find the backup information on what was in the box. In the meanwhile Galen wants to learn more about the natives and is told the local expert is called Massiff and was actually born to the sand people, but because of a deformity he was left to die in the wastes. He was found and raised by moisture farmers. The next day they find Massiff in an Anchorhead cantina. He tells of rumors about a young god returning and the spirit of vengeance. Galen explains he thinks this spirit of vengeance is likely an off worlder with his own agenda and asks for Massiff’s aide; along with a fee he agrees.

They return to Czerka when the information on the box is located. The item taken was a strange triangle found during mining in the Jundland wastes, Massiff says that location is a Holy Well. Galen seems quiet, but agrees that Kip will target that mining site next. They arrange secret transport to the mine, traveling in a supply speeder. Along the way they are ambushed by Sand People and a Bantha, which nearly destroys their speeder. Leeloo commands the Bantha to attack its masters while Corraun draws fire away from the speeder. Concerned that they’re being watched no one uses a light saber. Corraun is shot by a thunderous cycler rifle, but manages to kill one raider with his own Gaffi stick and knock out another. Between Leo, Tyan, Massiff and Galen the remaining Raiders are killed. Corraun brings back the unconscious one, but before anyone can prevent it Massiff kills him. Galen chastises Massiff, but he shrugs the reproach off.

They walk the rest of the way to the Holy Well mine, along the way Massiff tells that legends say many thousands of years ago Tattoonie had giant oceans and jungles, but “The Old Gods” also referred to as “The Destroyers” had bombed the planet reducing it to glass and the glass has now turned into sand.

Once at the mine they met the foremen Ukram Waine who shows them around the mine. He further explains that Czerka has told him to mine out the rest of the area where the artifact was found since now it appears to be important. Leeloo and Massiff think the entire mine should be buried, but Corraun and Galen agree this is the best bait to draw Kip out. They mine into a nearby cavity and discover a burial chamber. There is a symbol on the floor, but it is obscured by rubble from a partial cave in. Along the walls are 60 or so burial shelves with mummified corpses.

Massiff translates old Sand People script on the upper walls. A series of circles and lines representing a number of cycling of the twin suns. This represents a date around 1,000 years ago. Falling stars landing on Tattoonie, these stars have faces and are called “The Young/New Gods” afraid they would be like the ancient “Destroyers” the people fought, but were nothing against the Young Gods’ power. The Young Gods’ searched for many years for something called The Star Pool. One by one over many years the Young Gods’ turned on one another until only two remained. Believing one had found the Star Pool, but kept it a secret, led to a vicious duel. The victor was gravely wounded from the battle and eventually died taking the secret location with him and was entombed here.

Galen has the miners start to clear the rubble from the floor symbol and he guesses at what’s underneath. He is proved correct, it a symbol of the Sith Empire. The 1,000 years ago makes sense that was during the Great Hyperspace War. The Sith were crushed, but a ship or two could have gotten away and landed on Tattoonie. The 12 Young gods must have been Sith Lords. As Galen suspected back in Anchorhead the object Kip took was half of a Sith Holocron. That knowledge in Kip’s hands could be devastating.

Galen goes to the top of the mine and will cloak himself and wait for Kip. While the rest remain in the tomb searching for the Sith holocron piece. Sometime later they hear sand people cyclers firing from inside the tunnels. Before they can block the chamber entrance the Sand people rush into. A few moments later enters Kip Gilto and two Sand personal guards. He says, “You should not have crossed my path, for my quarrel is not with you.”

Corraun and Eva try and reason with Kip to stop this, but Kip warns them to stay out of his way. Leeloo leaps to attack Kip and she is blocked by his twin red bladed light sabers. Kip commands his Sand marauders to attack her, they both activate red light sabers from their Gaffi sticks forming the shape of scythes. Leeloo fares to hold her own against the two marauders till Kip unleashes a stream of force lightning, she manages to leap out of harm’s way, but is caught off guard by one of the light-scythes. Corraun, Tyan and Leopold charge to her aide. Massiff continues to fire and is shot twice for his courage. Kip offers them all a chance to surrender. Leeloo defeated, drops her light saber, Corraun reluctantly does the same. Accepting their surrender Kip warns them to flee Anchorhead as soon as possible, soon it will be razed to the ground. Eva and Corraun again tries to reason with Kip without success. Leeloo attempts to covertly reach for her saber, but is stopped by Kip. She bounds to her feet and using the force flees the room. It dawns on Kip that a sith lord would not be buried in a crude shelf and looks down at the sith empire symbol on the floor. With a blast of force lightning he destroys the seal revealing a sarcophagus. He leaps down splashing into stale liquid and spies the other half of the Sith Holocron. Eva asks him to look at what he has become, it gives Kip pause, but he continues on his course.

Kip and his band exit the chamber and two raiders are gunned down. Waiting for Kip are four Czerka guards, Leeloo and Knight Neros. The Knight gives Kip a onetime offer to surrender, Kip challenges him to a one on one duel. Kip opens with a blast of lightning, which is caught by Neros’ saber, surprised by the Knight’s skill Kip has left himself open and is struck to the floor by Neros’ blade. The Sand People attack Galen and several of them are gunned down on Leeloo’s orders. She draws Corraun’s light saber from a fallen marauder and moves to Kip. Corraun force pulls Kip to safety.

Using the force Corraun can detect some good left in him. Leeloo tries for a killing blow, but is blocked by Corraun who shouts out that Kip can be saved. Leeloo moves her blade to cover Kip, but he has had the time to recover and bats away her blade with his own. Eva believing in Kip and trusting Corraun steps between Kip and Leeloo. Kips uses this to his advantage, leaps to his feet and brings both red blades to her throat and demands everyone back. Corraun puts his hands out in a non-threatening manner and pleads with Kip to search his feelings and find the good that he can see still remains. Kip begins an internal struggle with himself Leeloo pounces on the distraction and swings at Kip, Corraun manages to just catch her arm and stop the blow. When Kip opens his eyes he is his old self again, the signs of the darkside are gone, but his smile turns to a cough as a dark mist exits his mouth, but then like a vacuum returns to his body and his face is covered in pure rage he swings to decapitate Eva, but Tyan leaps shoving her out of the way and taking the strike across his back. Leeloo grabs Eva and carries her off to safety.

Knight Neros is shocked having never seen anything like it before, but quickly recovers and engages Kip. Surround Kip fends them off long enough for his contingency plan to activate. Explosions occur throughout the mine creating multiple cave ins. Leeloo and Eva make a run for it, so does Tyan and Leopold, Corraun goes back for Massiff while Neros tries to defeat Kip. After several moments it’s clear that enraged Kip and Neros are too equal in power and are at a standstill. Kip flees leaving Galen to be killed by the cave in.

After several near misses with falling walls and stalactites the heroes reach the exit safely. Knight Neros scans for any sign of Kip, while Tyan and Eva hug each other for support. Leeloo begins to walk away.